Bursa Malaysia Remains Lower At Midday, Bucking Regional Trend
By Zufazlin Baharuddin
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday on Thursday, bucking the positive trend across most regional markets.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 11.19 points to 1,584.00 from Wednesday's close of 1,595.19.
The benchmark index opened 3.61 points lower at 1,591.58 and moved between 1,583.90 and 1,592.89 during the morning session.
Market breadth remained negative, with 617 losers outnumbering 268 gainers. A total of 433 counters were unchanged, 2,774 untraded and 13 suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.72 billion units worth RM962.11 million.
Regionally, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index added 0.24 per cent to 3,654.95, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.04 per cent to 24,092.89, South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index increased 0.11 per cent to 5,381.38, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.07 per cent to 5,381.38.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.92 per cent to 24,092.89.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI continued to slide as selling presumably from foreign funds persisted.
He added that selective selling in banking stocks was also evident, as some funds may be looking to position themselves ahead of the addition of 20 stocks to the benchmark index, which is widely expected to dilute the banks' weightings.
“Nonetheless, we see the current level as an excellent opportunity for bargain hunters, thus anticipate the index to hover within the 1,590-1,605 range today,” he told Bernama.
Among heavyweight stocks, CIMB fell seven sen to RM7.01, Public Bank eased one sen to RM4.52, Tenaga Nasional lost 22 sen to RM12.74, and IHH Healthcare shed one sen to RM7.72, while Maybank was flat at RM9.95.
In active trade, V.S Industry and Nexgram eased half-a-sen each to 29 sen and 5.5 sen respectively, GIIB Holdings reduced 3.5 sen to 12 sen, Ni Hsin declined two sen to 8.5 sen, while MAG Holdings was flat at 15.5 sen.
Among the top gainers, United Plantations rose 98 sen to RM31.22, Malaysian Pacific Industries gained 22 sen to RM38.52, Vitrox Corp added 14 sen to RM10.20, Hong Leong Financial Group advanced 18 sen to RM17.66, and MISC climbed 17 sen to RM7.87.
Nestle led the decliners, falling 74 sen to RM94.80. Fraser & Neave dipped 48 sen to RM20.06, Allianz Malaysia erased 46 sen to RM19.14, while Batu Kawan and Hong Leong Industries gave up 40 sen each to RM19.00 and RM16.40 respectively.
On the broader market, the FBM Emas Index fell 77.11 points to 11,800.67 and the FBM Top 100 Index declined 74.01 points to 11,625.34.
The FBM Emas Shariah Index dropped 83.63 points to 11,787.82, the FBM ACE Index slid 60.50 points to 5,246.00, and the FBM Mid 70 Index slipped 74.55 points to 17,043.31.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index fell 72.22 points to 18,418.99, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 1.75 points to 170.69, and the Energy Index lost 3.70 points to 785.31, while the Plantation Index jumped 79.96 points to 8,807.89.
-- BERNAMA